


beside you

by justasuperfan



Series: happy together [3]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 1960s, Dating, F/M, Mute Allison Hargreeves, Okay I suck at this, allison and raymond, okay no more tags, very short
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justasuperfan/pseuds/justasuperfan
Summary: the date raymond and allison went on in december
Relationships: Raymond Chestnut/Allison Hargreeves
Series: happy together [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875541
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	1. (feels like) heaven

**Author's Note:**

> seriously guys, is it HEALTHY to be writing this much umbrella academy?????? i’m seriously addicted and i don’t think i’ll be coming out of it very soon. i have a few more works planned for this series, and a random series of song lyrics that feel like the siblings that i probably won’t post. on top of that, i might be doing a sequel for reset the clock. anyways, i’m doing fine

“So, when did you get here?” Raymond glanced up at Allison over his food and offered a friendly smile. She didn’t seem to talk much, but he noticed the scar on her throat. Whatever had happened had to have been awful, but at least he knew she wasn’t just ignoring him for some reason. God, she was just so beautiful. Raymond wasn’t shallow, he didn’t date women just based on looks, but Allison was the most gorgeous, kind, and hardworking woman he’d ever met. If only she was able to tell him more about her.

Allison smiled back at him, but her lips were tight. She looked as if she was having trouble talking to him, which was understandable. But she could write something down if she needed to, right? Did she know how to read? Raymond knew of many black people who couldn’t read because they weren’t allowed in schools. Thankfully, he had learned how at a young age, but maybe Allison hadn’t. That had to be very hard on her without her voice.

“Three months ago.” She managed. He wanted to tell her she could stop talking, but he just loved her sweet voice. Sure, it was hoarse and forced, but he could listen to it for hours. He could be around her for hours.

“Wow. You must be from far away. I’ve lived here my whole life.” He tried to end his sentences with a sense of finality so she knew she didn’t have to talk more than she needed to. Did she know sign language? Everything about this girl was a mystery. She just showed up at Odessa’s one day as if she’d always been there and offered no explanation. “Well, I’d like to know more about you. I know you can’t...” He gestured to his throat, “But you seem amazing. Can you write?” She nodded, and his heart soared. “Should I get you some paper?”

She nodded again, and something brightened in her eyes. Maybe he would finally learn about her mysterious past. Or about her in general. Any information would be great. He waved over his friend, Manny, a waiter at the restaurant.

“Excuse me, could I get this fine woman a notepad and pen, please?”

“But of course. Here, take my server notepad. I don’t need it anyways.” He handed Allison a yellow pad of paper and an ink pen. She smiled her thanks and Raymond gave him a nod.

Allison immediately began writing, her hand moving across the paper slowly and her hair bobbing as it moved. He found himself less engrossed in his food and more engrossed in the way her dress rippled in the building’s heating, the way her eyes flitted across the paper. She saw him watching and smiled bashfully, giving him a wave. He waved back and held back a joyful laugh. She did like him after all. Before, when she’d been in the back of the room during the meeting, she’d seem secluded, like she didn’t want to talk to anyone. But maybe it was just so she could preserve her fragile voice.

She held up the notepad and he squinted to read it. Her handwriting was in large, capital letters and not graceful cursive like many girls used. He found that he liked that she was different. 

I INJURED MY THROAT LAST YEAR, SO I CAN’T TALK MUCH. SORRY. I REALLY LIKE YOU, THOUGH. I CAME FROM INDIANA LOOKING FOR A BETTER JOB.

He finished reading and looked up at her. Why would she come to the South, where segregation was the worst, for a better job? He kept that to himself. “I like you too, Allison. I want to know all about you.” She blushed and looked down at her food. “Maybe we could do this again sometime? Next Friday?” Allison nodded and returned to the notepad.

I’D LOVE TO HELP ORGANIZE PROTESTS, TOO. I’M AT ODESSA’S EVERY DAY IF UOU NEED ME.

“That’s great! We can always use the extra help.” Raymond found himself fidgeting underneath the table. This woman made him so unnecessarily nervous, but a good kind of nervous. The butterflies in his stomach weren’t unpleasant, like when he walked the streets and was glared at my white folks. These butterflies just wanted to leap into his heart and guide him to her hand. But it was only their first date. He should wait and get to know her more before he tried to get closer to her. After all, he only wanted her to be happy, and he didn’t want to scare her off.

Maybe an hour passed of the two of them making light conversation about their respective lives, trading ideas about sit-ins and protests, and Raymond learning as much as he could about the mysterious Allison Hargreeves. He learned her previous husband and daughter had been taken from her, which Raymond assumed meant they had passed away, about her caring mother and how she met Odessa and began working with her. He told her all about his family and his dreams of everyone being treated as equals. 

Once the check was paid, he decided he would walk her back to the apartment she was sharing with one of the women from the salon, at least until she had enough money to move out. He found himself staring at her and trying to memorize every part of her. She kept looking up at the full moon with a sense of wonder and despair on her face. The stars reflected in her eyed like pinpricks of light highlighting the beautiful copper irises. “Beautiful moon, huh?” He asked, following her gaze.

She blushed at him and looked down at the ground. “Yes.”

Raymond’s hand slowly inched towards hers and intertwined with her cold fingers. She tensed, but then squeezed his hand and gave him a smile. They walked to her apartment, hands swinging between them, the moonlight guiding their path.


	2. one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which raymond can’t seem to forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one’s very short also, but i love raymond and he deserves the world! sorry i haven’t been active lately, but i’m making up for it with my sixteen umbrella academy works. i’m addicted. humor me.

_Raymond threw his arms around his beautiful, lovely fiancée. She stared back up at him with heart eyes and smiled wide. “I will always love you, Raymond.”_

_He snuck a kiss onto her forehead and left his lips lingering for a minute. One hand snuck around her waist and pulled her in closer as his lips moved down to hers. She kissed him back with the fiery passion she had with everything. When he finally pulled away, his forehead rested against hers. She was so warm, and he just needed her to be with him. He had to be with her every day. Which was why he’d sunk to one knee just minutes before, holding out the ring he’d saved up for weeks to get her. And she had begun crying as she kissed him, over and over. He wasn’t ready for the moment to be over yet. So they stood together under the pale moonlight and the reflections of the street lamps in the fountain. They were lucky no one was around, or they might’ve been kicked out. But he’d planned for that. He loved her enough to make sure she would always be safe._

_“I will always love you, too, Allison.”_

_She pulled away for a moment just to look into his eyes. He loved the teary, love-filled look she gave him. He felt like he was being pulled in by a magnet to her gaze. Then she kissed him again, and they danced through the night. He felt a raindrop, but they didn’t move until the sidewalk was as wet as the fountain._

Raymond opened his eyes to a bright morning and felt the immediate urge to reach over and tell his wife good morning. He turned to the woman sleeping next to him lazily, and kissed her on the cheek before whispering, “Good morning, baby.”

The woman who turned to look at him was not Allison Chestnut. Because she had gone home six years prior, and left him scrambling for the heart she had broken.

Of course, he didn’t want to keep her away from her family. Her entire life was in the future. But it hurt so, so much to know she was living her life without him. And she was probably much better off than he was. It had been six years, and he still forgot about his new wife. He forgot that Allison wasn’t sleeping with her arm around him and creeping down the stairs when she heard a strange noise. He forgot she wasn’t always trying to protect him, or that she wasn’t leaning against the windowsill staring at the moon. He forgot, because love does crazy things to you.

He’d said he would always love her, and that wasn’t a lie. He wished it wasn’t so hard to let go.

Raymond waited for a response from his new wife, but she didn’t respond. He slipped out of bed and walked to the bathroom slowly, finding that he was getting dizzy. His hands found the edges of the sink and he stared at his own broken reflection. He should be over her. He should know she wasn’t coming back. But he couldn’t help but hope.

The eyes that looked back at him from the mirror were foolish. They were full of happiness and memories. And his heart was full of loneliness and hurt. She had left him. He was alone. He had new people who cared about him, a new family and a baby in the next room, but it just didn’t feel right without her there. Nothing felt right. But he had to adjust. He always did. It was just the morning when it was hard, when he forgot his life had changed so drastically overnight.

But Raymond was fine. He slipped into the next room and gazed lovingly at the baby that slept in the pink crib. The baby girl named Claire.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! i love these two <3 sorry if i seemed insane in the beginning notes lol


End file.
